Shortly after my first post, I realized how many newbies that may not know the difference between the "Convert to Steem" and the internal market.
A friend of mine, who didn't know better missed out of 400 STEEM because of that! Ouch!
What's the difference?
The "CONVERT TO STEEM" button in your wallet is there to guarantee that you'll get $1 worth of steem with your steem dollars. But it doesn't sell it at current market price!
The conversion via that mechanism takes 3 days I think and it can be helpful when SBD are selling for below $1 but when it's worth $12-$14, it's catastrophic.
TO PROPERLY EXCHANGE YOUR SBD IN THE CURRENT SITUATION you have to go in the internal market which can be found in the hamburger menu on the top right under "Currency Market" or by typing: https://www.steemit.com/market
The screen should look like something like this:
Wishing you a happy SBD/STEEM conversion from now on.
Dear @cryptoctopus, what an excellent article ! You are a really smart steemian ! Thank you so much for this type of advice ! It's so easy to make this mistake...
Your son is a genius @grandpere ! :-)
As a newbie I had no idea about how this all worked and I’m sure I would have made that mistake. I guess it’s a good feature for when it’s lower than $1 but you think they would have a warning before the conversion.
A warning would be a step in the right direction. I calculated lately that between 5 and 10 % of the daily SBD in the author reward pool is erroneously converted from SBD to STEEM.
My guess is people just want to power up and they think this is a market order, but it's not. In conversation, people often confuse “convert” with “trade." They mean "convert SBD to STEEM on the internal market or via bittrex" but they just say "convert." So people hear that you can convert and look, there's an option to convert, how convenient.
5-10% is a lot! I’m still confused by all of this but I do know I won’t be hitting that convert button!
Why would the platform have such a choice so blatantly misrepresented?
It really makes me re-think what this whole thing is about. How deliberate was that UI choice, I wonder, and what does that say about the rest of the Steemit platform design?
What other "gotchas" lurk in the system?
There are times when this option is helpful, but not right now.
This idea was recently discussed among Steemit developers. Hopefully they'll implement it.
Seems like it would be a pretty simple fix. I’m loving the app at the moment though!
I exchange SBD for BTC in Bittrex when BTC prices are low with respect to average, them buy Steem when BTC goes up.
Seems like a good way to stay ahead of the curve. I’m still growing my account and haven’t even thought about converting or trading or selling or whatever other options there are. Just got my first reward from posts and comments.
Let me make a correction on this strategy.: I had never used the internal market. I was not even aware of it,due other confusing internal links of Steemit. Recently I started to use it, and I find I can get more steem and fastest than Bittrex. Hence, now I would send to Bittrex only to invest in other cryptos, but not for exchanging them to Steem. Of course if I were to sell, them I would do it against btc and eventually into steem. I want reach 1,000 the fastest. Large amounts of steems behaves as Black Holes regarding followers. And the more followers you suck in, the more gravitational pool you will have.
Dear @justinmora, I'm very new to Steemit, just registered 2 weeks ago. I was thinking about exchanging SBD to BTC when BTC prices are low, but could you please tell me what is the difference between buying Steem or Steem Dollar when BTC goes up? Why is buying Steem better than buying Steem Dollar?
Thank you very much for your reply in advance :)
Let's go by parts in function of my current knowledge: You buy Steem to Power Up, so you can get more steem and SBD.
If you buy BTC with SBD when BTC prices are down, then you can latter get more Steem when prices of BTC are up. The more steem you power up, the more potential to improve your cash flow of Steem and SBD you will have.
Thank you so much for your explanation :) That's very kind of you!
@cryptoctopus For first time i had convert SBD to Steem but take it 3 days, as after so many days later i could realize that i am a looser because SBd value 7 or 8x !
That sucks, lessons learned I suppose.
Someone else had 1000 SBD locked in conversion, a huge loss. What's also important is that the conversion CANNOT be canceled once it's initiated.
That's how it would feel to me
I realized how many newbies that may not know the
hahahaha...!,,,exactly evryone will feel like this
Nobody could have anticipated that pump. I mean who hodl'd SBD? Nobody :(
lucksacks.com does and then we pay it out to our players and they 20x. :)
Maybe I should start playing at lucksacks again!
Yeah, I don't see why anyone would be holding SBD prior to this. However, if it ever gets down to $1 naturally, then I bet we will see lots of people who hold on to their SBD rewards in case this happens again!
That's the dilemma, nobody had any reason to hold SBD. It was trading at $0.95 for a months. And yes, when it goes back to $1, I'll be the first to hold it and wait for the next pump. The last pump happened in May when SBD reached $22! So it's possible we'll experience another pump in a few months (if history decides to repeat itself).
Hahahahahahahaha Great example dear @cryptoctopus
I had only 0.5 SBD left, so not enough to sell on bitrex.
So I thought, maybe if I use the 'convert' button. Then I might profit from SBD's spike.
Luckily it was only 0.5 SBD.
Transfers from/to exchanges cost ZERO fees, gotta love Steem. So yes, you could transfer that 0.5 SBD on bittrex, sell it, buy STEEM, and transfer that back. However, there are commission fees for each transaction on the exchange itself.
In the end, the internal exchange remains the best and quickest solution. I recently bought 60 STEEM with 10 SBD on the internal.
10 SBD x $12 = $120
$120 / $2 per STEEM = 60 STEEM
The prices are approximate when I did the transaction. But you get the idea.
If you buy BTC in low range, wait to hit higher, and then wait steem to go low, then you maximize
Oh man, that must sucks. That's like a 500 Steem loss or something like that :(
My first rookie mistake was something similar. In my introduction post about 3 days ago I choose the 100% option instead of going 50-50. I didn’t knew nothing about Steem dollars at the time.
But either way, I am happy to have found this community and excited to take part in this!
Read the FAQ, it's the first thing everyone should be doing when they join any platform. You'll find a lot of information to get you going :)
Yea I heaerd about it on discord, luckely I used the internal market, man i got cheap steem! I also think it is better to buy steempower right away. When sbd goes back to 1$ we have our origianal amount of $ but when you buy for 5sbd like 30 steem, steem will never go down 14 times. Or do you think it is better to keep my sbd till it is higher? higher sbd doesnt mean more steem because when steemprice rise you can meaby get equal amoubnts of steem on internaml market :) ?
Great post, I always buy on the market. Waiting 3 days is silly.
why this otption doesnt lead to the market at times when sbd price decouple from 1 usd?
A little bit too late for me.. but it's good to know in the future.. I think I only lost 90% of it :((
Sigh.... I learned this the hard way. I thought one SBD = one STEEM. This newb learned the hard way. haha!
A month ago 1 SBD = 1 STEEM.
Now, 1 SBD = 6 STEEM.
Funny how quickly things change.
Ouch, I'm sorry for your loss :(
Really a hekpul note at the right timr...hope it will help me sooner..😉
Thanks that info. Wow I used to press it all the time
what's the secret.. I wrote a similar article and hardly got any views.. and this article is just rocking with upvotes and got on Trending
Convert to STEEM option looks like a good arbitrage opportunity when the price of SBD is bellow 1$.
I remember that proce some time ago on poloniex or bittrex.
Thanks for letting me know. Already lost lots of sbd this way. Feeling sad.
Thanks for this info. I used convert to steem after I transfered my btc to steem 3 months ago, then majority of my steem was use to power up to steem power.Now I don't want to do it. I also don't want to convert my sbd to SP. I use blocktrade to buy sbd or steem, do you think it's okay? Kindly give me a wise advise...thanks!
Wtf.. i don't know that...and nobody ever told me about that.........thanx a lot buddy...
Providing a description of that market screenshot, along with guidance on usage would have made a more complete and even more useful post. That market page definitely fails the user-friendly test, along with being un-obvious what each side actually does.
No way I going to be the one trying to explain that market page to my wife! While I can reason through what conversion will occur and what the number marked SBD/STEEM represents, I should not have to do that. A good description would save a lot of time for every user.
Ideally the page would have a better description. But since it’s missing, adding a few words of explanation would really add a lot of additional value to your post. And your post is valuable and great information/advice.
Getting people to the market screen is good. But too many users will be so confused, that many will return to the first screen to use the Convert option as it’s easy to use and understand.
Thank you very much for the info, I made that mistake last week, luckily it was only 2 SBD, so around 20 or 25 lost. I had just realized that this was as you say but I was not sure, I am using blocktrades now.
You rock sir for refreshing and very much guided us in running circumstance. these are the technical points generally steemians specialy newbies doesnt know. so due to your previous and latest post we learnt much. amazing endeavors you have for the promotion and development of this plateform, I realy appreciate your work. indeed much obliged.
Thanks a lot for your guidance in conversion SBD ---->Steem in present scenario @cryptoctopus. It is very help to newbie and they can save their money. You're really a true steemian who is serving the community in the right direction. Keep posting & Stay Blessed!
oh no, poor guy. Wouldn't it always be better to go with the internal market? I mean, if the SBD is below $1, it would be better to sit on it for a while than lock it in the three days wait, a lot can happen to the market in 3 days, right?!
you know initially sbd was pegged at $1 and those that earn usually convert to steem sometime later even users preferred reward to be 100% not now that sbd increased massively and no one expected this
Yeah, there was never a real reason to use the converter at all. I don't think SBD has ever stayed below $1 for an extended period of time. However, if the converter did not exist, then SBD could easily drop below $1 in value, so it has some uses :)
i tried that once at the start and i know how worse is that never used that after that straight away i got to internal market and convert it into seconds anyways it would be really helpful to the new people out here on steemit thanks for sharing your experience :)
yeah its new for me to convert to steem in walet and they show that convert in 3.5 days i dont know that how converting method is it now price value or that after 3.5 days value they give me @cryptoctopus
Thanks! I totally had not understood this and have only educated myself in light of the unexpected SBD explosion. Like it seems most people on Steemit I had been regularly converting my SBD to Steem. This has been the clearest explanation so far - so thanks!
To be sincere am enjoying what you have been sharing to us about steemit today, most new fellas did not know about this and missing much. thanks a lot.
Very useful ! I had used this once by mistake and till reading your post I didn’t knew the difference.... appreciate the post
Thanks for this great info @cryptoctopus it was really helpful and will be to other steemit newbies
I totally didn't know this, thanks for the helpful PSA!
Thanks I had no idea about this at all. Will definitely use the exchange in future
Thank you very much for your kind information of convert sbd to steem. I didn't know how to convert it? But when I read your post, I know it.This kind information help me very much for my dream! Thank you @cryptoctopus .
Gd @Information dear #cryptoctopus thanx you so much. for your new update sharing . & you always give our Gd post .
Thanx you so much dear @cryptoctopus for sharing steem new update .
Never used it (the internal marketplace) before, but will always use it from now on...
Thank you @cryptoctopus !
Am a newbie and I have learn something quite interesting... I love this
This is a neat idea. I had no idea how to work in a new form. Want to know how long the SBD is under $ 1? Your idea will be very useful. I always wish to follow you with a new idea.
@cryptoctopus very good advise mate fully agreed
there are many users who say that do not convert to steem but in your post this is very clear, so now we have to prevent such a disaster,
Thanks for information sir!
Thanks for this awesome update
Hope the "sell" via blocktrades for SBD to Bitcoin works well?
I was converting to steem at the beginning, but now I know better.
That's quite a Revelation
Thank you
You saved the day for many with this post.
good
Thanks for sharing this to the people, A friend of mine fell victim he lost a good amount of sbd, So sad.
Ohh my I have been doing this, thank you so much I never knew.
a pull request to have that feature disabled for the moment, as soon as possible. At least until SBD comes back down to 1 USD, assuming that it ever will again. I for one hope it does not
nice, never convert your steem dollars ? steem solve this problem,
Heard someone used the conversion process also some days back and still in process, fact is that newbies on this platform dont know much and usually don't ask, they prefer earning by all means and end up losing it all later
So what do you do with your steem $? If we don't convert it to dollars than how do we spend it?
Indeed some newbies didn't know this truck of using the internal market.
I know i am not supposed to post a link here,but may be some one might find it helpful.
I made a post of how i converted 1.8 SBD to 12 Steem!!!! and Power Up.
Here is the link for anyone who is still stuck check it out and Power Up Minnows and Newbies,this is the only ripe time to Power up.
I realized how many newbies that may not know the